


looks familiar

by orphan_account



Series: Orphanage Verse [5]
Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-31
Updated: 2007-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-11 21:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 5 of the Orphanage Series: The kids go off to Hogwarts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	looks familiar

_September_

~*~

 

The sun was far too high up for Harry's liking when they finally got out of the house, car weighed down with five huge trunks. Far, far too high up. They were supposed to be at King's Cross at nine sharp.

"We're never going to make it," he muttered as he packed the kids in, one after the other. At his back, Ron was laughing at him.

A glance over his shoulder towards the door revealed Hermione, who'd come over for the day to keep an eye on the young ones until he and Ron came back from the station. Sheryl was standing by her side, arms around June, keeping him from running after the others.

"I really wanna go, too," June mumbled.

Harry knew he was a bit of a wuss when it came to those kids and he did do his damnest not to spoil them rotten by fulfilling every single one of their wishes, but the teary eyes just always managed to weaken his resolve. "Maybe he could?" he tried.

"No!" Sheryl was barely sixteen herself, but her glare was fierce. "He's too young yet, he's not going. Not even to the station."

"But I want to!" June proclaimed.

July emerged from behind Sheryl. His eyebrows were raised. "I'm not going yet either," he told his brother. "And you're even younger."

"Boys," Ron interrupted the brawl before June could get choked up as July teased him to tears. "Neither of you is going this year. Let's talk about this next year, all right? Until then - what, sweet Merlin, are you doing up at this hour? It's barely half past eight. You should be still asleep."

"We have to say goodbye to Billy, of course," July said, and rolled his eyes as if it was ridiculous to even ask. "And Martin and Sonya." He didn't mention Epicia. He didn't like her very much.

"So say your goodbyes, but quick," Harry gave in. "We're running late as it is. Hermione, will you be okay with everything?"

"Yes, Harry." It was Hermione's cue to roll her eyes. He wondered if July had gotten that one from her. "I've spent a day or two alone with the kids before, remember? I might not be as good with them as you are, but I'm not pathetic."

Ron snorted.

"Ronald Weasley. What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Ron coughed. "Nothing at all."

"Are you suggesting I'm bad at this? Because I swear, if you are, I can still pack up my stuff and leave you to handle this bunch -"

"No, no, don't go, we all know you excel at everything, really, and thank you so, so so much for helping out, Hermione," Ron said. Then he grinned. "Just don't burn the water again when you make soup."

"Ron!" Harry nudged him with his elbow. "Leave Hermione alone."

"And anyway, I'll be cooking," Sheryl said with a smile.

That made Billy poke out his head through the window of the car, batting his lashes at her, "You want me to stay, Sher? Help you out with that?"

"Billy, head inside, mouth shut," Ron said.

"Thank you," Sheryl said. "I do know how to protest his dishonourable advances, though. I'm not helpless."

"He's fifteen," Ron said wryly. "There is no potion against that."

"Guys." Harry ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "Can we have the chat later? The Hogwarts Express is not waiting just so the Boy Who Lived can drop off half his orphanage an hour late!"

"He's right, off you go, off you go," Hermione pushed Ron towards the car and he made a smacking sound at her before he got in into the seat next to Harry.

"Now that was faster than I'd thought we'd be," he said, looking pleased.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry groaned, because Martin and Sonya were bickering in the back about which houses they were going to get sorted into. "Just shut up."

 

~*~

 

Talin, who was attending his last year at Hogwarts, was the first one to vanish into the crowd after hugging both Harry and Ron goodbye. He hadn't been made Head Boy, which was just as well, Harry thought, because if Talin hated one thing, it was being the center of attention. He was a good student, but very shy, and standing in the spotlight made him uncomfortable to the point where he hated having his birthday celebrated.

His best friend Alison had her arm around his shoulder while he walked off, waving one last time.

"Think he'll be okay?" Harry asked. He was always a bit nervous when it came to leaving his kids alone, even if it was to go to Hogwarts, the safest place he could imagine.

"Of course," Ron said. "He's been going to Hogwarts for six years. If he weren't, I'd have to guess something was seriously wrong. And check out the girl hanging onto his arm. Figure that's his bird?"

Harry tilted his head. "Alison? Nah, I don't think so. Last time I asked, he said she's his best friend -" He never got to finish the sentence, because behind them, there was an excited shriek and someone pushed past him, bouncing up and down.

"What the -?" Ron asked.

"Look, Bellatrix's here, she said she'd transferred to Beauxbatons, but she's back, oh please, can I go say hi, please?" Epicia stared up at Ron with huge, begging eyes.

Ron felt Harry wince beside him at the name, curled his fingers around Harry's to make sure he didn't go off into his own head. He couldn't address it now though, so he decided to make sure Epicia was dealt with first. "Yes," he said. "Just give us a hug first, okay?"

"Ew, hugs," Epicia said, but embraced them at the same time. "I'll see you at Christmas?"

"Of course," Harry said and patted her head. "Go on, then."

"Whoever comes up with the names these days?" Ron wondered, because he couldn't not say anything. He knew, of course, that there would always be Bellatrices around, as there would be Toms, but also Jameses and the occasional Lillies.

"Leave it, please?" Harry asked quietly.

And there was that again. Ron sighed. "Fine, don't deal with it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It means nothing."

"No. Do care to enlighten me, Ron, what –?"

"Believe me when I say that there is nothing I could tell you right now that would make even the slightest bit of a difference. So I'm not going to."

"If you would just, for once, not –"

"Uh, guys?"

"What?"

Billy shrunk back, faced with twin-glares from Harry and Ron. "I just thought you might not want to have that fight here, because there are people around and you know how it is with what's printed and... stuff."

"Hey, it's okay, sorry," Ron said, while Harry mumbled, "You're right, of course, you're right."

"Ooookay," Billy said disbelieving. "You know what, I think I spotted a couple Quidditch players from Gryffindor over there, I'll go say hi and then get on the train?"

Martin was standing beside him, staring at his shoes. Harry noticed because he was fidgeting with his trunk, pushing it back and forth onto his right knee. Sonya was looking frightened by the masses of people assembled at the station, and all the loud noise.

"Look, I know this is a lot to ask," he started hesitantly, "But do you think you could look out for Martin and Sonya a bit?"

"But -"

"Billy." Ron frowned.

"I don't need to be taken care of," Martin said, a stubborn expression on his face, even though he did so to his shoes.

"Me neither," Sonya fell in, sounding not half as convinced as Martin.

Ron glared at a few people who were trying to push through their little group, threatening to split them up, and they backed off. Then he got down into a crouch and gave them gentle smiles. "We know that," he said. "We just thought it might be a little easier on you if you had someone bigger and stronger to keep an eye on things. Just in case."

Martin looked away, pout on his lips, while Sonya nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, darn, fine," Billy gave in. "But I'm not promising to stay with them the whole train ride! I got my own friends, and Kyle and Fayette are prefects this year, so they'll have lots of news on the others -"

Ron smirked. "When did you become such a gossip queen?"

Billy opened his mouth, affronted. "I am not!"

"Are too," Ron teased.

"Ron," Harry pulled Ron up to stand beside him and gave him a peck on the lips. "Quit making fun of him, okay?"

"It's fine," he then said to Billy. "We're going to take their trunks to a compartment and it would really help to calm our worries if we knew you spent the first hour or so with them until they're settled?"

"I can do that," Billy agreed. He stuck out his tongue at Ron.

"Don't you do that, young man!" Ron grinned. "Or I'll hex off the part that's protruding."

"Will not."

"You better believe I will."

"Trunks?" Martin said, still pouting.

"Ron," Harry elbowed him.

"Just make sure one of you checks up on them once in a while," Harry told Billy once Ron had gone off with Sonya's trunk, which for some strange, unidentifiable reason, was much heavier than Martin's.

Billy shrugged. "There's no way in hell I'm letting anything happen to the little ones, you know that."

Harry smiled. "I know, Billy," he said. "I know."

 

~*~

 

"So there they are then," Ron said as they watched the doors close and the train slowly roll off the platform.

"Off they go," Harry agreed. "God, it'll be quiet in the house again."

Ron turned to Harry, eyebrows raised. "You're kidding me, right?"

Harry snorted. "Yeah, sorry. It was a nice fantasy, though."

Ron punched his shoulder. "Think Hermione's gonna kill us if we go have some fun this afternoon and book ourselves a nice hotel for the night?"

"Huh?"

"You know?" Ron wagged his eyebrows.

"Oh dear God, yeah, definitely, with the hotel and the killing," Harry said. "But then, if she offed us, she'd be stuck with the kids on her own, so maybe not."

Ron grinned. "So it's a date?"

"Yeah." Harry pulled him close and kissed him hard. "Yeah, definitely."

 

~*~

~~ _written in December 2007_


End file.
